January 2010 Archives

Another weekend saw a few final Saab Support Convoys take place (I don't think there's any more scheduled, but I could be wrong).

One of those was the convoy in Memphis, Tennessee, where 15 cars and around 24 people gathered to celebrate Saab's sale to Spyker and show their support for the company.

A note from Barry L:

------

In spite of the fact that "Super Bowl Sunday" is the most celebrated "holiday" in America (other than New Year's Day), Memphis/Mid-South area SAAB owners and enthusiasts came together to show their support and celebration of SAAB's INDEPENDENCE, and its saviour, Spyker.

Fifteen vehicles strong, we gathered in far east Memphis and discussed all matters related to SAAB, then drove 20 miles to the Pyramid Arena, on the banks of the Mississippi River. Check out the 1990 Saab 900...IMMACULATE!

There, we celebrated "SAAB Independence Day"....our first annual celebration of that event. January 26th of each year will be a day of celebration here in Memphis.

We had a great time. Thanks to all who participated and sacrificed a portion of this hallowed holiday in the USA.

BTW: On unanimous approval of our group, we will be forming a SAAB Club for the Memphis/Mid-South area. More details will be provided once finalised.

Note: Big thanks to Gary McConnell for the artwork.

Cheers,

Barry

-------

Once again, the dedication of Saab owners in places where I didn't really know there was a passionate Saab following is quite amazing.

The Saab Club of Thailand is one of those clubs that I'd heard of before, but not had much interaction with. So you can imagine the smile on my fact when I opened my email tonight and saw this:

There were around 50 cars attending the Thai convoy today, which is just outstanding.

They set up a website specifically for the event, and there'll be more photos available there and on the SCOT website later.

I like the logo:

Thanks to Prakarn for the info!

Well, only a small, hardy group made the meet today on a raw, cold day here in Nashville, but we did it!

Our plan: Rendezvous at at the Nashville location of our local independent service group, Eurofix, and drive to Centennial Park in downtown Nashville for a photo at one of our most recognizable local landmarks, the full-scale replica of the Parthenon of ancient Greece.

Robert, Mark, Kathleen, Daniel, Ramona, Walter and I got to know each other a bit while the sky spit little bits of snow mixed with rain. Robert and Mark were driving Robert's C900 and 9-5, respectively; Mark left his 9-3 convertible at home due to the conditions. Kathleen, Ramona and Walter the Golden Retriever were looking smart in Kathleen's 9-5. Daniel, one of the Saab techs at Eurofix, signed on as the ringer with his modded 900 SPG, and we were off.

I was planning to drive the "new" 1991 900 turbo convertible, but a freak failure of my garage door mechanism precluded me from getting the car out today, and it was just as well. With the day being as nasty as it was, the 9-5 was the right call.

Here's the group at the Parthenon. I'm looking forward to a more leisurely meeting in warmer times. Click through for more photos.

Vive la Saab!!

The starting point. Thanks again to Eurofix for hosting.

The drive.

Interaction. That's Robert on the left and Daniel on the right.

Check out the sweet mods on Daniel's SPG. He figures that he's got 250HP on tap here. He's got bigger air intake plumbing, exhaust mods for lower back pressure, higher capacity injectors, a 9000 fuel rail and an uprated intercooler. Noice!!! It sounds low and Saaby. Well done, sir!!

This is what's inside the Parthenon. The faithful replica of the Athena Parthenos is said to be the largest indoor statue in the Western world.

The Saab Support Convoy in Luxembourg took place over the weekend and they had their Saab Saved signs printed up quickly to replace the Save Saab signs they'd probably already prepared.

Poor conditions kept a few away, but they still had a good showing with 15 cars and more people in attendance through the day. The poor weather also kept the older cars under wraps, with the oldest in attendance being a 1986 Saab 900 2-door.

Attendees got a good look over the new Saab 9-5, too, as the event coincided with an open weekend for most dealers in Luxembourg.

Thanks to Marc for the photos and information, and congratulations to all you Luxembourgers!

Click to enlarge:

------

Both the Nashville and Memphis convoys scheduled for last weekend have been postponed due to poor conditions with snow and ice.

I assume the San Francisco event went ahead last Friday, but haven't tracked down any information about that one yet.

Will get on to it in the morning.

I have been consistently blown away by the variety and breadth of the Saab Support Convoys in the last three weeks and this week's offerings are sure to continue that trend. I am just amazed by some of the sights I see.

The Israeli Saab Saved Celebration took place on Friday, January 29th.

There were around 30 vehicles in attendance, ranging from a 2-stroker right through to Saab 9-5.

The meeting took place by the Roman Aqueduct in Caesarea.

The local press were in attendance and took some photos of the champagne being cracked open and hopefully some photos from them might become available soon.

There's a big photo album available here.

Click to enlarge, below. Thanks to Oren (in the safety vest) for sending through the details and congratulations to all who attended!

From our own SaabKen comes this summary of the day's events in Vancouver, BC:

Well under a grey, wet (typical Vancouver) sky, a dozen or so SCWC-ers gathered at Coquitlam IKEA on the morning of January 30 2010 to celebrate a new chapter in SAAB's history.

Even the less-than-ideal weather could not in any way damper the tremendous amount of energy, enthusiam and positive outlook shared amongst our Saabers today. We also had the pleasure of welcoming a few new members, who brought along their beautiful fleet of recent Saabs, including a Turbo X sedan, 9-3 Aero XWD sedan and the most recent 9-5 Aero HOT sedan. Nevertheless, Saab tradition is maintained by the stalwart presence of NG900, OG9-3 Viggen, 9000 and a pristine C900T convertible.

After the initial gathering where we proudly mounted our SAAB SAVED placards in our cars, we proceeded to hit the road to get some road time and exposure to other motorists. As well as visit our dear friend and local Saab champion Bill Convery at Dueck Saab in Richmond, where he jovially greeted us and kindly gave us more than an hour of his time to talk about all things Saab. We are very hopeful of continued Saab retailing in 2010 and look forward to seeing Bill being on the center stage of that process.

I, too, am looking forward to the rise of the Canadian Saab organization, and I am glad to learn that there are those in Canada to augment those efforts.

The remainder of the pictures are here.

Well done!!

This is an event that happened almost a week ago, one that we didn't hear about at the time.

Per has been kind enough to send through a link to some photos from the event, which happened on January 24. There were 39 Saabs in attendance.

This is one of a number of events in Norway over the last few weeks. There were a number of smaller events there, rather than one big one, as in other countries.

SAAB fans in Guangzhou, China were so excited and impressed by the deal done during the week by Spyker to purchase Saab from General Motors that they decided to come out and celebrate on Thursday, 28th January.

A forum post with plenty of photos is here.

A selection photos is included below.

There was a Saab Support Convoy in Tokyo over the weekend.

Details have been scarce, but as you can see from the details posted on Twitter, there were 29 Saabs in attendance and one vehicle of another brand in support.

Thanks to Michi for the details.

Saving Saab on the steps of City Hall in San Francisco.

I've not received much info on the SF convoy, but from the photo and one video online, I'm led to believe it may have just been the organiser(s) present. Hard to get people along on a Friday?

The Saab Support Convoy in Washington DC has been run, with a great turnout of around 35 vehicles making their way from International Motors in Virginia to the Capitol Building in Washington DC.

Some photos, provided by Blix, are available for viewing here. I've pinched a few and you can see those below, as well as a few more from Brian S.

Congratulations to all who jumped in and joined the worldwide party!

------

At International Motors, in Falls Church, VA.

Outside the Capitol Building in Washington DC......

At the Swedish Embassy in Washington.....

Organisers of the Saab Support Convoy at Interlaken, Switzerland, should be pretty happy with the attendance. With the arrival of a group from St Gallen (Mmmmm, home of Hirsch) the numbers swelled up over the 90 vehicle mark.

Some early photos from Oliver H....

------

And some photos received after the event.....

Some old-timers that made the trip. With thanks to Patrick.....

------

And some graphic Griffin Up! work by Rene....

--

MPLS - funk in house from east to west.....

One of the cities in the US that I'm dying to visit more than most had their Saab Support Convoy on today and as Greg Abbott reports:

50 people, 36 Saabs, an Audi and a Ford Fusion. Incredible turnout for the middle of January in Minnesota.

Congratulations to all.

Some pics below, with thanks to Greg.

UPDATED below.

OK, so I don't have all the "DONE" information for it yet, but I'll add that later.

David Z did get in touch to provide this initial image, however, so it looks like there's a few St Louis Saabers out there.

And some later images, including The Arch.

More images will become available later in the week at the STLSwedeSpeed gallery.

------

An update from Fox News (Thanks to GerritN):

--

MANCHESTER, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) - Financial newspapers across the world are reporting General Motors is hours from announcing a deal to sell the Saab brand to Swedish carmaker "Spyker". The deal would save Saab from the fate that seemed certain months ago: its demise. And news broke just after Saab loyalists in St. Louis took a stand. Sunday afternoon about 10 Saabs and 25 Saab lovers stood in a parking lot behind the West County Saab dealership in Manchester, laughing and talking and hoping.

"Griffin up!" said David Zemon, a Saab owner from St. Charles County. "That's kind of our slogan for this whole Saab ordeal."

"I read something a couple years ago that a magazine said Saabs were weird cars for weird people and I don't think they're that weird but I love them," said Mike Lyon, who owns three Saabs.

The Luttrell family of Wentzville owns four.

"They're just a really quirky car," says mom Stacey. We are a Saab family."

The quirks are lovable, though: the Griffin, the mythical creature in the Saab logo. There is the ignition, started by a key in the console between the driver and passenger. And there are the collectors.

"They call me Saab guy," said Zemon, "because I am kind of obsessed and kind of addicted."

Despite its charm, GM's troubles seemed Saab was doomed. So Sunday, St. Louis area Saab owners brought their cars to the dealership in Manchester, before driving together to the Gateway Arch. They wanted to show St. Louis and tell General Motors that Saab should be saved.

"We just want GM to do the right thing," said Luttrell.

The save Saab convoys happened across the world in the last few weeks. 600 people in France, and 800 in the Netherlands, said Zemon

Jobs are in jeopardy and dealerships are in limbo. Saab suddenly feels like more than a car.

"We're trying to encourage GM to sell Saab. Let them go, not kill them," said Zemon.

Lyon hopes GM is listening. And Sunday night's news of a possible deal makes it appear as though they are. "There are people that depend on work here, all throughout the country and the world," said Lyon, "so, give it a shot."

UPDATE

Frank T, the guy behind the Chicago rally, has checked in. They had 64 Saabs in attendance as well as some support vehicles of other brands. They may even get a new Saab Car Club going as a result of this event!

Congratulations to Frank and all the attendees.

------

Saab owners from both Illinois and Wisconsin got together in Chicago today for what seems to have been a very successful event.

The vehicle count stood at around 60 cars, which is a fantastic effort. Reporters from the Chicago Tribune were in attendance, interviewing owners. Hopefully there should be some good media coverage in coming days.

I have some preliminary photos through and hope to update with more details as they come to hand.

Thanks to Hector for these first images.

Peter Gilbert, owner of the million-mile Saab 900, was there. Unfortunately, the 900 wasn't as it's still ensconsed in the museum in Wisconsin.

------

There was a board for people to sign at the Chicago event as an affirmation of the event's purpose.

Signing here is Peter Gilbert, the million-mile Saab owner.

--

Chicago Breaking News has a report posted online.....

Saab owners pride themselves on being quirky, like their cars.

"I don't want to drive a (Toyota) Camry. If I had one, I would probably drive it off of a cliff," said Kevin Wright, who is part of a dual-Saab driving household. "I like the option of having a car that's different than everyone else. We hate the idea of something that has a bit of originality going by the wayside."

Wright, who is a chauffer, and his wife, Colette Gabriel, were among more than 80 Saab owners who converged on an IKEA parking lot today to show their support for the ailing brand. Enthusiasts from across the Midwest travelled to Schaumburg as part of a worldwide "Save Our Saabs" convoy. They commiserated around their diesel hatchbacks, sensible wagons and sporty drop tops to sob about the potential loss of Saab.

Diesel hatchbacks?

OK, so it's my understanding that one my old mates, a guy named Fred, was there with his diesel Saab 9-3 and might have given a few people a taste of modern diesel technology.

Anyway..... good to see it got some good coverage.

------

UPDATE

The following vieo was shot by Hector B, and shows a good portion of the vehicles in attendance. Several 9-7x's are notes, as is at least one Saab 9-2x, which is a significant sighting.

The Dutch Saab Convoy had at least one vehicle from Saab's entire historical range, with the single exception of a 9-2x. That car being Chicago signifies that every basic model Saab's ever made (not special editions, etc, for the pedants out there) participated in this event worldwide.

More videos from Hector here, here and here.

--

UPDATE - new photos are in.....

There were 54 registered cars, but there could have been a few unregistered tag-alongs as well.

I've been advised that thanks are due to Nathan and Shane for the great work in putting this together - so thanks to you guys, and to all who turned up.

The following photos are from Meg, and look fantastic!

Click to enlarge

------

UPDATE 2

There are also some great photos here on Facebook.

Mmmmmm. Viggen.

------

I've only got two photos so far, which are ones that appeared at Saab Link, but it looks like there was a great turnout for th NYC Saab Support Convoy today.

------

Steve C has provided some details from the event.....

--

• There were a minimum of 52 cars at the end point, at Liberty State Park
• Could have been as many as 80 that participated through different parts of the day's program
• There were a couple of 96's (at least one a two-stroke), one 900 SPG, one or two 9-7X's and a few NG900's, at least one 9000 and the rest were current generation 9-3s or 9-5s.
• Lady Liberty was hidden away in the photos by poor weather.
• Park police were in attendance, but were cool.
• A good time was had by all.

I'll post more images and details as they come to hand.

Here's another one I didn't know was happening.

Not content with just one SSC, Saab owners in Shanghai decided to get together for a second time. Last time they assembled was in the evening, so it made for difficult conditions for good photos.

This latest meeting is good for us as it allowed them to get some daylight photos this time. It always good to make out the faces of those you'd like to thank for coming out and showing their support.

It just highlights the point that Eggs made last week - this thing is worldwide and it's like Saab speaks all languages. It's fantastic!

Kudos to the guys and girls in Shanghai, and thanks to KT for sending in the photos (again!)

Click to enlarge.

------

Note the formation of the cars at the back :-)

The Shanghai Saab fans, who have now come out several times to support their favourite carmaker!

--

Here's another one of those convoys that caught me off guard because I didn't know it was happening prior to getting the email.

One of my old friends from this site, Jose G, got together with a few of his friends from the Saab Clube Portugal and whilst they were placard-free, they did gather with Saab Support on their minds, some custom artwork and, of course, a lineup of beautiful Saabs - which is all you need.

The North Carolina Saab Support Convoy has been run and done, with a small but committed group of Saabers in attendance.

Chris, Bob, Mark and Seth enjoyed a nice drive from the airport to the capital and of course, had their Save Saab signs out to show the reason for the get together.

More photos on Facebook - here and here.

Congratulations to all the guys on being part of the global convoy!

The final convoy for Saturday was the one held in Jacksonville, Florida.

The North East Florida Saab Club guys took their Save Saab message to the streets as part of the First Coast Car Council of Jacksonville's weekly "Cruise In".

There were 15 Saabs in attendance and it looks they enjoyed a good turnout and most of all, a good time.

UPDATED - more photos available here.

Click to enlarge the photos below. More photos are available here.

The breadth of these convoys is just fantastic. I've enjoyed watching the reports and photos come in from place after place.

Last week it was primarily from Europe and Australia, with a bit of Asia as well. This week it's mostly North America, with a bit more Asia thrown in for good measure.

These photos are from the Saab Support Convoy in Singapore, where there were 25 Saabs in attendance, accompanies by an Audi, one Porsche, two Opels and an Alfa Romeo (Alfa UP, baby!).

I have a few images below, but there's a whole album full at this link. Thanks to CHTay for the update and congratulations to all who attended in Singapore.

The Saab Support Convoy in Toronto, Canada, is run and done, with a great turnout of 57 vehicles and more people in attendance.

The cars first assembled at Aktive Motors, a Saab specialist workshop and supporter of the event, and then moved on to GM's Oshawa plant for a photo shoot.

I've heard there were cars from as far away as Viagra Niagara Falls and even a New Jersey plate in there, so kudos to everyone who came along for the fun.

Photos are from SaabScott, head honcho over at the Saab Club of Canada. More photos available at Photobucket.

Click to enlarge.

UPDATE - More photos, courtesy of Dave M

------

UPDATE 2 - great group shot, from Andy M. Taken at the Mile Hi Body Shop.

------

News is coming through from several Saab Support Convoys that have been conducted today. Singapore, Toronto, North Carolina and Paris have all gone well.

For now, though, it's the SSC attendees in Denver, Colorado, who have added to the global village of Saab Support, with over 60 Saabs turning up on the western steps of the capitol building in Denver.

I'll get a more complete group of images up shortly, but for now, there's plenty of them both on Facebook, and on Picasa.

Congratulations to all the Denver Saab owners and the Rocky Mountain Saab Club for their support of this event!

------

New Pics. Click to enlarge.

Plenty more pics after the jump.....

The Saab Support Convoy in Paris has been run and done. The vehicle count from David M was 114 vehicles with more than 250 people in attendance.

The weather was somewhat grey but that didn't stop people from turning out in good spirits to entertain the assembled press (from which, there was apparently quite a reasonable posse).

Congratulations to the French SSC attendees, and Griffin Up!

Photos courtesy of Romain and David M.

Another one of the Norwegian groups has reported in, with some great photos of their Saab Support Convoy in Kristiansand, in southern Norway.

------

We were a few enthusiasts (who else would join a car meeting in the middle of January? :-) in southern Norway on the 17th). It was freezing cold and snowing, but we had a great time.

There are some more pictures from this meeting at the Norwegian Saab Turbo Club forum.

Another Saab Club here in Southern Norway, Saabklubben Sør, was also represented on that day.

------

Another SSC event in Norway.......

Like every other Saabenthusiast yesterday, we gathered for the Saab Support Convoy. Here in the city of Sandnes, the Saab Turbo Club of Norway managed to gather 16 Saabs for the event. Not the biggest number I guess, but we're pleased with it :-)

We got the newspaper to cover the event, and I've already been contacted by people interested in joining the Saab-community.

There's a heap of photos available here.

--

Another group of Saabers, inspired by what happened over the weekend, got together on Monday the 18th in Tolga, norway.

There were 11 cars present, with around 20 people gathered to send their message - Save Saab!

Like the event in Bodoe, Norway, this Saab Support Convoy in Umea, in Sweden, is waaaaaay up in northern Scandinavia. Click here to see where.

Temps well below zero are the order of the day for this time of year and it was -5C on Sunday, when 19 cars gathered together for their Support Saab Convoy. The local media were there as well.

Congratulations to the hardcore Saabnuts in Umea.

Danish Saab fans formed a Saab Support Convoy in Copenhagen and made their way, with a few stops, up to Trollhattan.

This from Henrik B:

We assembled at the square in front of the Town Hall, in Copenhagen, where we were 36 Saab's.

After a photoshoot by the Town Hall, the convoy drove to the American Embassy. Here we had another photoshoot.

The Danish convoy to Trollhättan, were 20 Saab's and 35 people, including Mike from the UK and two guys in a Dutch Saab 96. Danish press was also present, including three camerateams, Denmarks largest newspaper, and to danish automagazines.

The two automagazines and Danish TV2 television followed us to Trollhättan - of course driving in Saab's.

What did we learn in Sweden this weekend? Well, here you go:

• The new Saab 9-5 is a VERY cool car. It's doesn't look as big as the measurements indicate. It is however very, very spacious inside.
• Saab has so far made 70 new Saab 9-5's. Ten are used for further testing. Ten are used for exhibits and display. And fifty are out in normal traffic, among Saab-employees.
• Saab are to start production in the beginning of february. Everything is ready, they just need to receive body's from Opel.
• The new Saab 9-5 Estate which has been spotted during roadtest, is just a "shell", meaning that only the front doors are real.

(all of the above was told to me, by the leading Saab-engineer, responsible for the new Saab 9-5 development).

The 1.500+ Saab's where more than two hours, to drive the 6 - 8 km's from the Saab Museum, to the Saab factory.

There are a whole bunch of photos at the Club website.

Initial advice said that Malaysian Saabers were going to get together next week, but they must have felt the gravitational pull of the 17th January and been unable to resist.

We brought together some 20 cars in support for the SAVE SAAB movement on the 17th of January 2010. Even though the number of Saabs just touched 20 but the feeling of pride among the owners were very was WAY above that.

Congratulations to all the participants from the Saab Owners Club of Malaysia

Here's another little convoy I never knew was happening.

Bodoe (or Bodø if you're a local) is waaaaay up in northern Norway, and a few of the guys up there got together and had a little Saab Support Convoy of their own.

It seems the 9-5 is a popular car up there. And how do they get away with having no snow when they're so far north??

Doesn't matter. All that matters is the Saab love.

From the organisers of the Ekaterinburg Saab Support Convoy:

We had 29 cars.

Not so much ....., but we have very little Saab ....We are few, but we have warm hearts !!!!!

The story will appear on television, on two channels. In the news and in automotive transmissions.

And check out some of the cars there in support!

More photos available here.

20 cars turned out in Ningbo, China - a convoy I didn't even know was happening.

The gathering at Duxford Imperial War Museum was limited to some 80 cars.

Mr Saab, Erik Carlsson cut the cake and enjoyed the overwhelming amount of international support for Saab.

Total amount of cars joining in the convoy was approximately 120 and we picked up some more down the road, average 3+ passengers, some 400 people involved in total.

The local GM workers Union in Luton showed their support along the route we followed passing the Saab UK head quarters.

There are some sensational photos available here on Flickr.

------

Robin M also has a good collection of photos here.

--

A small but hardy group of Saab fans gathered in Montreal, Canada, with one of Gothenburg's finest coming out in support of it's smaller corporate cousin.

From group organiser, Sébastien:

We had a small turnout by any measure, at our peak we had about twelve people. We may however have been the only group to pose on an F1 track!

There are more photos available at Flickr.

There were three Saab Support Convoys in Poland today, with 270 cars in Warsaw (over 550 people), 31 cars in Poznan and 14 cars in Lodz.

What an absolutely fantastic effort!!

Plenty of images here.

------

I just wanted to highlight one photo collection that was sent to me by Justyn, one of the organisers there.

Click this link to see an amazing 64-image slideshow, one that encapsulates everything that today was about.

--

I'm not so big that I can't admit I actually started fogging up in the eyeball area whilst watching this.

The cars. The people. (the weather).

This is what it's all about.

Justyn joked to me that they changed the name of the capital from Warszawa to WarSAAB-a today. I think he's right.

Congratulations to all.

------

An excellent collection of photos from Michal.

Saab enthusiasts in the Atlanta GA are gathered together on Sunda for their Saab Support Convoy.

They had 24 cars turn up to the event, which was a little down on the number of registrations, but the weather didn't exactly co-operate by Atlanta standards.

Thanks to Ajith for organising the event and Keith for the photos.

Initial radio reports in Sweden suggested that there may have been as many as 1,500 cars participating in this convoy!

Later reports (see below) estimated the number of cars at around 2,000.

Here are some great photos from Sweden, courtesy of Christian W (thanks!!)

Outside the factory gate.....

Peter Backstrom from the Saab Museum (scratching his head at the number of cars in attendance?)

Cars in the Saab factory carpark in Trollhattan....

Saab rally driver (and Pikes Peak conquerer) Per Eklund in attendance.

------

From Robert E

------

Text received from Jenny Johansson at TTELA, the newspaper in Trollhattan, just after the event:

I just got back from the Saab support convoy here in Trollhättan and it was absolutely amazing. Around 2,000 cars and thousands of people attending. I met people from Germany, Norway, Denmark, England, Finland and all over Sweden. Can you believe that a little brand like Saab can have such an effect on people. Yes, I guess you can :-)

------

New photos and video from Jan F, who attended in Trollhattan where he's been working for over three decades now!

------

Here are a few quick videos from my colleague Jörgen Trued from the Saabs United Historic Rally Team. These were taken right at the beginning of the event.

--

--

Around 120 Saab enthusiasts got together in Moscow for for their Saab Support Convoy.

As we had very little time to organize our convoy (to inform everybody, to order stickers and posters and to choose the place) the scenario was approved just the day before the event. We met at the former Khodinskoe Airfield. Over 120 cars were present but after 30 minutes we were forced to leave because of the police :(. We started driving to the Vorobyevi Gori (Sparrow Mountains if translate literally) to gather near Moscow State University. This hapenned in a nervous atmosphere because we were pursued by police cars, so we were forced to redirect all the participants to a parking place outside Moscow (Rumyantsevo). Unfortunately in this turmoil some cars were lost, but we were lucky to get 93 cars to get the picture I sent you before. That's the story. So I think we can say that the route was Khodinskoe Airfield - Moscow State Univesity - Rumyantsevo.

Another fantastic job. More photos available here.

Saab enthusiasts in Shanhai gathered early in the week, on the 12th January.

There were over 30 cars in attendance, so kudos once again to the Shanghai Saabers.

Updated photos from Kenny T.

The following report came in from fellow Monte Carlo owner and event organiser, Mark C:

Unfortunately bad weather was forecast for Adelaide and all the "maybes" didn't make it. So anyway whilst we only managed three Saabs out of the ten I'd hoped for, we more than made up for this with enthusiasm!

I arrived at IKEA at 9.30 am and the first photo is my lone Monte at IKEA. Ian arrived with a 2004 9-5 about 10.00 am, with Andrew and the Aero a little later. We waited until about 10.40, then went for breakfast. When we came out, Sally and family (recently from the UK and currently Saabless) were waiting for us. It was raining and windy, but we decided to head off the Elizabeth anyway.

Fortunately the weather soon improved.

We took a scenic route from Adelaide Airport to IKEA to General Motors Holden plant in Elizabeth which builds the Holden Commodore for Australia/New Zealand, Chevrolet Lumina for the Middle East, and until recently the Pontiac G8 for the USA.

Saab used to build cars in Finland, so it's no wonder there was a large turnout to the Saab Support Convoy in Helsinki over the weekend.

There were 125 cars and who-knows how many people in another show of strong Saab support.

My thanks to Jyri for these fantastic images. Click here and there are more images, including a great front 3/4 shot of (I assume) each car.

Northeastern US Saabers got together at the Larz Andersen Auto Museum on the weekend as part of the Brookline MA Saab Support Convoy.

These photos come from one of our own, raquettalaker, who writes as follows:

The official sign-in count was 88 cars, but there were quite a few cars (ten maybe?) that came a little later and I'm pretty sure they didn't get to sign in. Unfortunately we had some nasty weather looming and most of us cleared out early. I felt bad for the people who showed up after 2pm... there wasn't much left to see. I got there nice and early with an 8-car convoy from Connecticut though and we all had a really great time. There were a lot of fun people around.

There are more photos available here.

I have no idea how many people/cars turned up in Prague, but it sure looks good.

More images available here.

Saabisti NM, the Saab Club of New Mexico has completed their SAVE SAAB convoy.

From the organisers:

We had 8 proud owners show up to our event. We were even honored to have an actual SAAB employee show up to support us, talk about what is going on, and to send us off. During our parade down Route 66 we had other SAAB owners pulling up along side of us, asking what was going on and trying to join the event. Even non-SAABers rolled their windows down asking us what was going on. It was great for us to show and share our pride in a state where little is known about the brand.

The SoCal car club met at Walter Wong's workshop in LA and went for a drive up to Santa Barbara for their Saab Support Convoy.

These photos by Alan I. There's more of these on Flickr.

------

They had around 30 cars in attendance and took a drive up the west coast, finishing the day at a little tavern on the way (which I'm pretty sure I've dined in, with 85Gripen and Bob Sinclair himself, back in 2008).

Thanks to Drew P for the photos. There's a whole bunch more here.

The Dutch Saab Support Convoy was the one that kicked this whole idea off.

As the idea grew, registrations for th Dutch event grew from 250 to 400 to 500 to 580!! At the end of the event, orgniasers emailed me with estimates of around 800 cars attending!

It's a tribute to the country that boasts having the oldest Saab Car Club in the world. And a tribute to the support shown to Saab worldwide. Congratulations to all of the organisers and attendees on what was a brilliant event - and the seed that started a worldwide campaign.

Additional info and pictures will be added as they come to hand.

------

Aerial view of the attendees, bearing in mind that at this point, there were 100 cars still on the motorway leading up to this area, another additional 200 or more were still waiting for the go at the museum.

There is a large version of this image available here, however you may only download it for personal use.

------

Some news coverage of the event, with fantastic images of Saabs from all eras.

------

I've received some images and stories already from people attending the Dutch Saab Support Convoy. This involves almost 600 cars and is a remarkable relationship between the Dutch people and Saab cars.

Photos from J.J.A.P

Waiting in line. This convoy along has more than 60 cars in it and there are a bunch of these convoys leaving from different places, all converging on the aircraft museum in Soesterberg:

Parking at the museum

------

UPDATE - New shot. Just a few of the cars in attendance.

UPDATE II - Another carpark shot. This is around 30% of this group, and this is just one of the half-dozen groups that'll be converging to form the main convoy!

------

The Dutch have planned everything, event the parking arrangements.

As you can see, there'll be a little turbo fan in the middle as well as a Swedish flag made up of parked cars.

------

The rally shields given to participants in the Dutch convoy today.

------

Message from Holland:

You just can't catch all the saabs in one picture!

:-)

A total of 55 cars and many more people attended the Saab Support Convoy in Bratislava, Slovakia.

They forged some good link with their Austrian neighbors, too, and word is they'll persue some joint activities in the future - great to hear.

Congratulations on your event and thanks for being part of the Saab Support Convoys!

There are plenty more photos are available here.

Saab fans in St Petersburg gathered on what looked like a bitterly cold day with snow falling. A very tough and determined bunch!

And what a beautiful city in the wintertime!

There were around 25 FIFTY hardcore Saabers in St Petersburg over the weekend.

There is a fantastic gallery of photographs of the event here.

Saab Support Convoy attendees met near the National Library in Minsk, at 11:30 local time.

There were around 47 cars in all, dating back to the early 1980s.

These photos have come through from Serge (thanks!).

There was a great turnout of 76 vehicles to the SSC in Budapest, Hungary on the weekend.

The meeting was organized by Balázs Kiss in assist of the Saab 9-3 9-5 Owners Club and the Saab 900 Club. Congratulations to all who attended and helped with the cause.

Photos courtesy of László - thanks very much!

------

And a few more photos from Toni

The Italian Saab Club gathered for their Saab Support Convoy on 17th of January. They met at Franciacorta's Circuit in Castrezzato (BS), near Milano.

20 Thirty vehicles were there (update figure), in what looks to be somewhat warmer weather than what their counterparts had, further north.

Congratulations on another great event!

------

Coverage has been good, too, with articles in Autoblog.it, Quattroroute and Autofanpage.it

--

--

The Saab Support Convoy in Melbourne, Australia, was completed with around 30 cars in attendance, along with a camera crew from SBS television.

One of our new regulars here, FlyGirl, has been kind enough to send along some photos, though I'm sure there'll be many more when the rest of the attendees get back from the picnic at Hanging Rock (I hope none mysteriously disappear*).

Some more photos will be added as they come to hand.

FlyDad's car with signage:

A few of the cars in attendance:

Our own Mike900's red Saab 900 Aero.

------

New photos of the Melbourne SSC have now come through, thanks to SAB. You can view the whole portfolio here on Flickr.

There were around 20 cars present in Vilnius, Lithuania today. They took a quick stop at the US and Swedish consulates and everyone looks like they had a fantastic time.

Lithuanian Swedish Cars Club joins the community of all Saab fans around the world. We wish Saab to be not a past, but the reality for all Saab fans and drivers. Save Saab - we wish You were here. There were more then thirty Swedish Cars Club members who participated in the world wide promotion "Save Saab".

There is a huge gallery of photos available here.

More photos available here, too.

The Saab Support Convoy in Beijing, China, attracted 47 vehicles and some attendees were reported to be flying in from as far away as Shanghai.

Congratulations to the Beijing crew. More photos available here, with thanks to KT.

The Latvian Saab Support Convoy was another success, with 93 cars and more than 150 people attending.

The convoy started our journey from Riga International Aeroport (how significant for Saab Heritage :) ) and drive passing newly erected building of U.S. Embassy, passing Embassy of Sweden and Embassy of United States. And then we drive through the city to the Riga Motormuseum. There was little press briefing and photosession before last part of Saab Support Convoy outside of the capital city.

Plenty of information available now on the Saab Club Latvia website.

Photos from Ingus M, president of the Latvian Saab Club.

Estimates are that around 180 vehicles and many more people attended the SSC in Estonia. They ordered 160 Save Saab signs and these were all gone in fairly quick time :-)

The Estonian Saab Club was joined by some cars and drivers from the Volvo Club there, as well, which is a wonderful gesture of support.

Coverage was widesread, with ETV and a number of other media outlets present to report the event.

Photos from the Estonian Club website, with thanks to Kristjian for the heads-up.

The Slovenian Saab Support Convoy was a great success.

From a small population they had around 25 cars and 50 people in attendance, including one person who drove a fill 1,100km from Poland!

They're putting together some video and editing some more photos, but here's a taster.

Thanks to all the Saab nuts in Slovenia!! (I feel like a host at Eurovision :-)

Thee were around 55 cars registered at the SSC in Brno.

This was one of two events in the Czech republic and it's great to see such support there.

Some media coverage of the event.

"The event had a great response and we registered 88 cars in the morning. The convoy was therefore divided so that it would not cause complications in the traffic," said Josef Sedivy, who was involved in the Prague meeting of Saab supporters.

In Brno, owners of vehicles of the brand came together from throughout Moravia. "It would be a great pity if the company closed," said Jiri Hruban from SAABunderground, which has about 50 members in Moravia.

.....and some photos. More photos available at Saab Underground:

German Saab fans met in Frankfurt this morning and I've received some early photos from Gunnar A.

More to come later.

They had around 65 cars in attendance. Another great showing at short notice.

Click to enlarge.

Taiwanese Saabers had already got together once for a show of support for Saab, but seeing the convoys were on this weekend, they decided to do it again!!

And they sure know how to turn out in support on short notice, too, with around 180 Saabs in attendance!!!

More photos are available here. Click the links in blue (in Asian script) and the photos will pop down.

My thanks to Mars for the heads up, and to all the Taiwanese Saabers for coming out in support today.

There were around 65 cars in Stockholm today, a good turnout for a quickly organised event, especially when the main Swedish event was focused in Trollhattan.

More photos to be added shortly.

The Saab event in Vienna was a huge success.

We counted 71 cars and in the city of Linz there were another 18 cars. That makes a combined (and very Saaby) total of 99 vehicles :-)

Photos from the Vienna gathering can be found here.

Photos from the Linz gathering can be found here.

A small but enthusiastic group got together in Kansas City to show their support for Saab Automobile.

We are already talking about trying to plan another one when the weather gets nicer!

Congratulations for getting out there, lady and gents!

--

The lads and ladies from Brisbane have successfully concluded their Saab Support Convoy. First photos to come through from AussieLars were taken at the initial meeting at Ikea by Ian and Karen C.

UPDATE

News coverage in the Brisbane Courier Mail:

It's great to see the 99s come out to play, one of which (the maroon 99T) is one that I used to own myself a few years ago (good to see yo there, Simon :-). Good to see the green Ford ute with the Swedish fag in a supporting role.

There were 33 cars in attendance all together, with 47 people.

Another great Aussie turnout. I'll post a few more photos and links as they come in.

More photos (including the 99EMS - yum) after the jump....

The first of this weekend's Saab Support Convoys happened Saturday, in Bulgaria.

Earlier this weekend, the Sofia Echo newspaper wrote a big article on this event, calling it a protest, etc, which I used on site here to illustrate the care we all need to take to ensure that the rallies are portrayed the right way because the media will sensationalise it, given the chance.

Of course, the Bulgarian convoy went off without a hitch. All you'll see here are beautiful cars and a bunch of very happy Saab nuts.

The group's organiser, Pavel, provided this report specifically for the benefit of the people at the Sofia Echo :-)

Our rally has ended. No blood spills, no broken windows etc : )

The article written by Sofia Echo was pure journalistic fiction. We did WALK by the US embassy ONLY with signs SAVE SAAB! Nobody from the club said a word! Everybody was quiet! Nobody was cursing, yelling, showing fingers or other inappropriate stuff!

It was not a protest, but a peaceful gathering of saab fans. Everything was done with police escort. We stood for 15-20 minutes NEAR the embassy and then headed to GM central where we stood AGAIN without horns, yellings etc. for about 20 minutes.

Two national medias covered the convoy - bTV (Rupert Murdoch's TV) and PRO-BG.

There were more than 45 SAAB-s and more than 15 cars from other clubs - Citroen, VOLVO, The Club of Fans and Owners of American cars thus making about 100people. The convoy was about 300 metres long.

The support of other manufacturer's enthuiasts is a fantastic sign and their attendance is much appreciated.

Here's some video, which was shown on the TV News there (brilliant!)

------

Here are the photos, and congratulations to Pavel and the group in Bulgaria for a great first showing.

Griffin Up!!

More pictures after the jump......

The Norwegian Saab Turbo Club is also working to get people to stand up for our beloved brand on the 17th Jan.

Global announcement on the Norwegian Saab Turbo Club forums.

UPDATE: - There's some excellent coverage with heaps of photos over at Jalopnik. Great to see such heartwarming coverage from Los Jalops.

I'm feeling the love, Wert.

--

More coverage at Autoweek.

--

UPDATE II

Report from Reuters, with Andy Rupert in the news!

------

The news is starting to filter through from Detroit. Apparently there were 28 vehicles there and quite a bit more in the press corps.

That could be good news or bad news. It all depends on how the press decide to play it.

The people who drove for hours to get there, however, are heroes and have my every respect. Detroit in the winter's a pretty harsh place but the cause was worthy.

I received a couple of pictures from Andy Rupert, who drove in with his wife Sharon, from Ohio. They met up with another SU regular, Ted Y (another traveler from Ohio).

Ted and Andy sharing some Detroit warmth :-)

Andy also sent through an amusing story.

Apparently Ted got there around 12 and couldn't find anyone in the parking lot so he went into the Renaissance Center (GM's headquarters) and asked a lady at the front desk "Where's the Saab thing?"

Her response: "What's a Saab?"

True story. And as Andy said, it really does explain a few things.

------

There are some more (heavily watermarked) photos over at Associated Press.

And while it's still available, I'd head over to Jalopnik and get their specially made poster for the event.

USA Today has a news story.

--

Will add more news as it comes to hand.

Kudos to Saab History for the idea which has given Saab a lot of press this week.

--

The Saab Dealer Council in the US has suggested that all US Saab owners contact their local representative in order to request that they stand up for their local businesses.

General Motors are currently 60% owned by the US Government.

------

To All US Saab Loyal Customers and Faithful Employees

A Message from the Saab National Dealer Council:

The first week of January 2010 marks decision week for the future of our beloved Saab: one of the automobile industry's treasures, a brand of rich heritage, unique engineering and independent thinking. We need to band together and exploit the power of numbers. Below we have provided links where you will be able to find the contact information for your US State Senator and US House Representative.

Contact Info for Officials from the President to State Legislators:

Phone, Email, and Snail Mail for Your Congressional Representative:

Phone, Email, and Snail Mail for Your Senators:

Send an Email to the White House:

http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp

Please see below for bullet talking points that are to be used for phone calls and letters to your Senators and House Representatives.

It has been proposed that a number of Saab Support Convoys be organised in various locations for same date - January 17th.

A kind of Saabs-across-the-world type thing.

------

New York

In comments to that post, Crandola kindly offered to organise a run around the Buffalo, NY area. If you'd like to join in that run, you can contact her on christine-at-armcomm.net.

Massachusetts

Sumitkn offered to organise something in Saab's heartland. Leave your expression of interest in comments and I can get people together.

------

Drive to Detroit

Ryan at Saabhistory is suggesting a drive to Detroit with a gathering at the RenCen, route and date to be determined. Head on over there if you're able to participate or contact Jim Laman of the Great Lakes Saab Club (lamanjim-at-juno.com) for local knowledge.

------

Some possible pointers for this.....

We may or may not have a decision on the sale of Saab by January 17th. If there is a decision, then this will (hopefully) be a celebration. If there isn't a decision, then this can be a rallying point.

Either way, your local press people may be interesting in the story and the gathering, so it'd be good to invite as many of them along.

In order for them to have something to write about, there should be as many cars and people there as possible.

Contact your local Saab dealer for support. They've got plenty riding on this and should be happy to provide some coffee and donuts, as well as the all-important flags and banners.

Let your local representatives know as well. jobs in their area could be at risk and GM is Govt owned at the moment (albeit in a hands-off kind of way).

------

I'm happy to act in whatever way I can as an information exchange for something like this, but it's up to locals on the ground to get it done. Just let me know what's going on.

The iwontbuyfromgm.com campaign is designed to send GM a message with regards to people's purchasing intentions if GM close Saab rather than sell the company.

The campaign started on December 24 and to date (Jan 1, 2010) has received over 4,200 comments as well as having 3,600 members in a dedicated Facebook group.

Click here to visit the site and add your comment.

Click here to visit and join the Facebook group.

------

Whilst the concept has been embraced by Saab enthusiasts. The campaign has enjoyed moderate success so far in the media. It's a little more aggressive than what some news services like to see and it may threaten some of their advertising revenues.

Still, the campaign has been covered by some mainstream outlets, including the Oakland Press (in Detroit) and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It has been reported more widely in the online community, having been picked up by multiple Swedish media outlets including Aftonbladet, TTELA, Auto Motor and Sport and others.